<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Detroit (31-5) at New York (13-24) 8:00 pm EST NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The league-leading Detroit Pistons pay a visit to former coach Larry Brown and the New York Knicks on Thursday. Detroit won a 106-98 decision in the first meeting between the teams at the Palace of Auburn Hills on December 2. Richard Hamilton scored a season-high 40 points and the Pistons shot better than 53 percent from the floor. Brown guided Detroit to NBA Finals appearances the last two seasons and to the 2004 title. But the team elected to buy out his contract after reports surfaced that he was pondering another job and hired Flip Saunders. Chauncey Billups scored 23 points and Hamilton added 21 in the Pistons' 117-89 blowout victory at Atlanta on Wednesday. Detroit had six players score in double figures, as it shot 52 percent (12-of-23) from the arc. The Pistons own an NBA-best 15-3 road record, including 6-1 against Eastern Conference opponents. They have won five straight overall. Jamal Crawford scored 19 points and Quentin Richardson added 17 as the Knicks lost in overtime, 106-104, at Chicago on Chicago. New York has dropped its last three games after winning a season-high six in a row. The Knicks may by without the services of forward-center Antonio Davis, who ran into the stands during the overtime at Chicago to aid his wife, who apparently was being harassed by fans. Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury - the club's leading scorer at 18.9 points per game - will miss his second straight game due to a shoulder injury. </div> I have a huge 5-page paper due tommorow and tons of finals to study for, so I don't have time to make a preview, but this will have to do for today. We're going up against the best team in the NBA and our best player is sidelined with a shoulder injury. You do the math. Hopefully you won't have to count numbers bigger than 20.
